Rail-bond.



G. L, CABLE. BAIL 30m). AIPLIOAI'IO! FILED KAI. 1, 1906.

Patented July 5, 1910.

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number of superimposed strands or narrow UNITED stares PATENT orn on.

CKARLES L. CABLE. OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE ELECTRIC RAILW'AY IMPROVEMENT COMPANY, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

RAJ L-BOND.

Application filed March 1,

To all whom itma'y concern: I 'Be it known that l, Cnnnuzs L. CABLE, a g citizen of the United States, and residenti of Cleveland, county of Cnyahoga, and State of Ohio, have invented a. new and useful Improvement in Bail llonds, of which the following is a specification, the princi he of l the invention being herein explaine and; the bestmode in which I have contemplated ap lying that principle, so as to distinguish it rum other inventions. I My invention relates to rail-bonds for electrically connecting the adjacent ends of 0011- l tiguous rails. The obj rt of my invention is to produce a bond the will ell'ect such connection of l rails in an enat and durable manner. It relates moi. pecially to the construction of'the body ti- 5011115 of the laminated type and is not limited to any particular method or means for securing the bond in I place on the rails. I

Said invention consists of means herein- I after fully described and specifically set forth in the claims.

The annexed drawing and the following description set forth in detail certain mechanism embodying the invention, such disclosed means constituting, however, but one of various mechanical forms in which the principle of the invention may he used.

In said annexed drawing: Figure l represents a side elevation of my bond as it appears in its normal condition; Fig. is a top view of the same; while Fig. 3 is av .ther side elevation of such bond showin it as it appears when applied to the ends of two rails and under one of the conditions of service peculiar to that situation.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 5, 1910. 1906. Serial No. 303.575.

stead, whereby they could be attached by being rivctul in suitable apertures in the -rails.

" As is well understood, a rail-bond to be satisfactory must P055125 at least two char acteristics in addition to being of sullicient conductive capacity to accmnulodjle the cur rent in the rails; in the Iirst place it must be cupaole of longitudinal contraction and expansion to accommodate the lengthening and shortening of the rails under the influence of varying temperatures, and in the second place it must have sutiicient vertical fiexibilitv to acconnnodate the displacement of the end of a rail that occurs, even on quite solid foundations, when a car passes over a i joint. In bonds having a laminated struc ture longitudinal contraction and expansion are usually provided for by giving the portion of the bond intermediate of the ends, or feel, an arched form; whi sufficient vertical flexibility has been assumed to be furnished by the laminated structure itself. In bonds. as heretofore constructed, however, the latter has bcen found not to be the case. The reason for this appears when it is re llected that in such bonds the superimposed strands or strips are tightly wound or held together, even in the intermediate arched portion. Accordingly when the bond undergoes flexure or heading, such tlexure or bendin is in mass and the outer strands in particunir are subjected to an undue amount of strain. As a result the latter frequently snap asunder while the bond as a Whole undergoes quite rapid disintegration.

' I have deemed the foregoing explanation essential to a full understanding of the significance of my improvement, which con As has been stated, and as readily appears from an inspection of the figures just described my improved rail-bond is of the laminated typo; that is, it is composed of :1

strips of conducting :natrrial. Such superlniposcd strands or strips may be merely parts of the cunvolmions of a single continuous strand \vound upon itself, or they may be scparatc strips suitably secured togcthcr at their k'lhlS. h'uch laminated holds are usually illlih'llltl at each cud to the rcspecli r l the arc dcsigncd to connect, I by being' vt'nZcd or soldered thereto; al-;

though in certain installers heads have been cast or otherwise attached to then ends 111- i sists simply in leavin in the arched portion of the bond a slig t space between successive strands. This appears quite clearly in Fig. l, where it will be perceived that while the strands a in the end or foot portions A of the bond arc in close contact one with aimihcr. they are, beginning at the lower curve 6 of the arched portion B, wound successively more loosely do as to successively leave a slight space between adjacent LOHYQlllllOll5.

In Fig. 3, as has been stated, the bond is shown as applied and in use. The end of one rail i is lherorepresented as depressed below the level of the end of the adjacent rail ust as would be the case were a car to approach the joint from the right. U1.- der these conditions of course the corresponding end of lhe bond is also depressed lu-hw: the le el of the other end. The ellect proihu-mi thereupon in the disposilion of lae strands is at once evidcnt; far the strands b ing free to move ilnilependenily throughon! the arched portion of lhe bond are all shoved laterally whereby they are tightly coiupivssed together on the left side of the arch and are moved correspondin y farther apart on the right. side. \Vcre the individual strands not free to thus shift laterally, such shifting involving only a very slight flexnre of any one strand, the bond would have to bend as a whole at points 5 b and more slightly at the summit of the arch. The detrimental effects of such bend ing incident as it to each frequently recurring do on of first one rail end, then the other, ias already been sufficiently dilated upon.

Bonds involving my improvement give evidence of lasting at least twice as long as those of the ordinary construetion.

Inasmuch as the manner of attachment, of the bond to the rails has evidently no hearing upon the movement of the strands in the arched iortion, it follows that any approved mo to either of brazing or riveting may be used indillerently without detracting from the added degree of flexibility which my construction provides.

Having thus described my invention in i i l l detail, that, which I particularly-point out and distinctly claim, is:

1. As a new article of manufacture, a rail-bond composed of a continuous flat metal stranl wound upon itself a plurality of times to form a laminated strip, said strip being bent to provide latera ly extend- Eng feet and an arched intermediate portion, such parts of the several turns of said strand as enter into the feet being compressed closely together, and there being a space left between such parts as enter into the arched intermediate portion.

2. As a new article of manufacture, a rail-hand composed of a continuous flat metal strand wound upon itself. a plurality of times to form a laminated strip, said strip being bent to provide laterally extending feet and a U-shaped intermediate portion, such parts of the several turns of said strand as enter into the feet being compressed closely together, and there being aspace left between such parts as enter into the U -shaped intermediate portion, whereby such last named strand-parts are adapted to shift longitudinally of the bond when one foot of the latter is depressed below the other, substantially as described.

Signed by me this 14th day of February,

. CHARLES L. CADLE. Attested bv:

D. T. DAVIES, I JNO. F. OBERLIN. 

